limited edition ultrasilencer by pia wallen for electrolux
Ultrasilencer Special Edition by Pia Wallén for Electrolux.
I discovered this on yatzer a very inspiring blog by interior designer Costas Voyatzis and I must say that if ever there was to be “a dream vacuum cleaner” (imagine such a category…) that would be it. It’s just perfect ! I love white and orange so much, and I even think in a small appartment like mine I could let this one apparent happily since I do not have a spot to hide my own ugly one (which I bought a long time ago when vacuum cleaners had not yet started to become interesting)…
It reminds me of Jasper Morrison‘s Breakfast Set for Rowenta – let’s just hope it does not have the flaws the Rowenta products had.
(It also reminds me a bit of a version of the Tissot Danica Patrick T-Touch watch that I liked a lot, because of the few touches of red upon the white leather).
But anyway, once again, there’s nothing like simplicity in design. This thing could well be the ultimate vaccum cleaner for some time.
Source :: yatzer.
soap carpet by the swedes
Soap Carpet by The Swedes for Kateha.
I registered @ Stylehive yesterday and I stumbled upon this great Soap carpet designed by The Swedes for Kateha and available @ ScandinavianDesignCenter.
I love that moss color – definitely in the air – but the carpet also exists in white.
japanese fabrics by karaku tokyo @ etsy
Japanese Flower Fabrics by Karaku Tokyo @ Etsy.
I cannot think right now of anything more exquisite in terms of color and pattern than Japanese fabrics. They always seem so perfect ! In a sense they are the epitome of “A thing of beauty…”.
And I cannot thing of a more exquisite shop than Karaku Tokyo @ Etsy. All her fabrics are simply gorgeous and beautiful. They have amazingly nice colors, not to mention the patterns which are all superb.
Besides the flower patterns, you will of course find geometric ones like this one :
And she also has a lot of Japanese Papers. I absolutely love that yellow one !
I discovered her through her Flickr. She lives in Tokyo, Japan where she is an interior designer. Her company website Karaku Tokyo is about Japanese home decoration.
rechinafication @ etsy
Orange Rim Vase by reChinafication @ Etsy
Joan Greenberg’s website :reChinafication.
too young to die
“Too Young To Die” Ashtray™ – Yoshitomo Nara
So this is Day One of “At last you won’t risk getting lung cancer from spending too much time in a café-bar-restaurant-nightclub-pick your choice here” in France and what with the big fuss around that and the so predictable reports on the radio – I don’t watch the news on TV anymore, I got spare the smokers vs non-smokers images – but what it really made me think about this morning waking up was this ashtray based on a painting Yoshitomo Nara made in 2001. (I wonder however whether anyone has ever used the thing as an actual ashtray…)
Anyway, besides the other well-known figures made from Yoshitomo Nara’s work, the PupCup™ and the Little Wanderer™ – my favorite one so far – I recalled that this year another figure in a Limited Edition of 300 had been released by How2Work. It’s called “Sleepless Night” (sitting), retail price was HK$7800 (around EUR 730 or US$ 1,000 at the time back in July), but even though you might have had the money it was still a tough job to get one. But the only thing that really matters is that it is amazingly and breathtakingly beautiful.
“Sleepless Night” (sitting), Yoshitomo Nara, 2007
However, if you happen to be interested in the financial aspects relative to art, while researching for this article – believe it or not I do research before writing – I found out that there has been a recent auction at Sotheby’s Paris about Contemporary Art and that number 276/300 of “Sleepless Night” sold there for 9,850 euros (14,415 US$).
Yoshitomo Nara @ Blum & Poe + Yoshitomo Nara on Flickr
Shopping @
Addict Galerie + Artoyz + Giant Robot + Inhabit [Canada] + Little Fashion Gallery + Museum of Contemporary Art [Chicago] + My Plastic Heart + Raw Space [Australia] + retromodern.com + unicahome
brendan monroe bacterium mug
Ceramic coffee mug by Brendan Monroe on Park Life, go to Homewares.
New in 2007. Very limited Edition of 150 pcs.
Brendan Monroe is an amazingly great artist. I discovered his work at the same time I discovered art toys since his Sour figures were then being released amidst quite a bit of turmoil as I seem to recall. The toys had been shown back in 2005 at SDCC and were first scheduled for October/November of the same year, but as is often the case with vinyl figures the production experienced some delays so that even though they were at some point announced for late January 2006 they were not actually released until April 2006. The release itself was a bit chaotic since it was mostly done through pre-orders and it seemed Glen Liberman from Android 8 was doing pretty much everything by himself. You could find the Green and Brown versions in a couple of shops though, but the Red Sour was a Munky King exclusive and the Orange one which was an Android 8 exclusive was sold solely at SDCC.
These “toys” are truly fantastic figures. They are a bit scary at first sight but they are so unlike anything else and so “strange” and sculptural that for many people – including myself – they ranked among the best and most beautiful toys produced in 2006. I love them. I love their strangeness and mystery. (And, Oh joy, I even managed to buy the Green one a couple of months later from Giant Robot – the Brown one was unfortunately “sold out”).
Indeed they have all long been “Sold Out” and the only way to get one – you guessed right – is eBay. Of course the prices today for those figures are quite insane – not to say totally insane if you are aiming for a complete set (the last complete set of four on eBay sold for a little more than $800 about 2 weeks ago) – so if you really love Brendan Monroe’s work for that price you could as well get an original painting or one of his Microbes. Or for less money than you would pay for one Green or Brown Sour you can also buy one of his Potato Heads at HarnerHouse. And truly it is a mystery to me that these sculptures be still available… (Edit : A friend of mine tried to order these and they are in fact sold out. I am sorry since it was not clear at all on the site. 21 September 2007)
Potato head (large) + Potato Head (small) by Brendan Monroe (2005, resin & wood, signed)
Also from HarnerHouse : In Case of Paper Face, a small interactive book.
Other books and zines :
Sour Leaves available at NOWhere Limited and Rotofugi.
Organelles available directly from Brendan Monroe.
Brendan Monroe
Brendan Monroe’s Studio PROJECT S2DIO #049 by www.glltn.com.
Upcoming exhibition “Insides” at Richard Heller Gallery from October 13 to November 11, 2007.
The Sours by Brendan Monroe :
Sculpted by Dave Pressler
Produced by UNKL for Android 8.
According to Squidoo numbers were as followed :
1. Brendan Monroe Sour Brown 400 Produced
2. Brendan Monroe Sour Green 400 Produced
3. Brendan Monroe Sour Red (Munkey King Exclusive) 100 Produced *At Last Report 50 Actually Sold To The Public*
4. Brendan Monroe Sour Orange (Android 8 Exclusive) 100 Produced *SDCC Exclusive Now* *At Last Report Only 50 Will Actually Be Sold To The Public*
kim westad ceramics
Large Whirl #1 + Pebble Cup in Orange + Pebble Pendant in Aqua + Small Whirl #4
When it comes to objects, there’s really Shape & Material. Well I grant you there is also this great dynamic duo called “Form & Function” but let’s just stick to the “Shape & Material” thing. Indeed, you can have the most wonderful color, if the shapes and materials are not right, then it’s just useless, it will never be right.
Kim Westad, since she expresses her art with clay, should know about materials. She used to be a graphic designer but she says her life changed when she decided to take a pottery class. And anyone over the age of 5 having one day put their hands into clay will understand exactly what she means. Because with these arts that require some technique either it’s like some Big Revelation, or more often than not, you just suck at it and you know it will take quite some time before you make anything more than heart-shaped ashtrays – if you ever do. (And although I have had some urges to try myself at the stuff, as you may have guessed to my great dismay I somehow am stuck in the latter category.)
So Kim Westad has this thing with clay, and she also has this great sense of “shape”. To be honest I am not fond of all her creations (some of them are a bit too classical for my taste) but the ones I like I really love. I find her Whirls Collection, and most of all her “Large whirl #1″ – the white ones being my favorites anyway – amazing. Those pieces have a powerful architectural quality (she herself acknowledges to the architectural influences, and they definitely arouse images of the Guggenheim in New York or of some of Niemeyer’s works) and an impressive simplicity about them that make them look more like sculptures than mere decorating objects.
Her Pebbles Cups in Orange or in Chocolate, her Pebble Bowls, Sweet Peas and Votive Holders are also very nice.
She is currently living and working in New York but she ships internationally.
She has been an Etsy Featured Seller in June 2007.
You might also want to read her interview on Crafty Synergy (a great blog I discovered writing this article).
beautiful vintage pillow covers by absoluut on dawanda
Starry eyed blues, Greg, Yams in space & Poppy love pillow-covers by Absoluut on DaWanda.
Check out those gorgeous vintage fabrics !
The quality looks really nice and heavy – you can see detail views for every item – but only one side of the cover is with a pattern, the other side is made of cream cotton fabric. Zipper closure at the back.
Sizes : 20″ X 20″ or about 50,8 X 50,8 cm.
Price : 20 Euros each not including shipping from the Netherlands.
